


Mermade for Each Other

by EDrake



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Anal Sex, Boss man Trevor, Falling In Love, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Mating Rituals, Merman Jeremy, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Scientist Alfredo, Scientist Gavin, confused men, creatures in captivity, future smut, mermaid au, merman ryan, sealife anatomy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:54:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27625703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EDrake/pseuds/EDrake
Summary: Mermaid research scientist, Gavin, and his favorite subject, Jeremy, have their lives turned upside down when an aggressive and vicious warrior merman is added to Jeremy's tank.
Relationships: Jeremy Dooley/Ryan Haywood
Comments: 30
Kudos: 40





	1. A Sudden Change

**Author's Note:**

> Soooooo... I think it goes without saying that there is a character in this work that not everyone wants to read right now, or possibly ever again. I am assuming that all those who don't want to read about any fictional version (and trust me this is an extremely fictional version of him) have figured out how to use the "exclude" function in the filters tab.  
> This is the first time I'm posting something multi-chaptered, and also the first time I'm posting something before it's finished. But... I've been working on this for about 3 years now and I have a bunch of unfinished, unconnected sections. So, I supposed I'm posting the only finished part to see if there was any interest in it.  
> I know that it will never get the amount of attention to warrant the work or time I've put into it. I'm also not deluded enough as to be able to pretend like it's special or super well written and deserves a ton of attention. But if it's something that people will enjoy, I will do my best to deliver.  
> I know it probably needs a bit of editing, so please bare with me. And if anyone is wondering about certain anatomical things that are mentioned... I'm sorta adapting dolphin anatomy to fit my needs.  
> Also I don't own anything. And please don't use this for any reason without my permission.

**Chapter 1** A Sudden Change

Gavin eyed his reflection in the thick glass. It was a floor to ceiling clear wall, six inches thick, crystal clear, and tempered. Specially designed for heavy pressures and strong forces. Not that it needed to be, the creature it housed was gentle and kind. But the tank was large. It was five stories deep, round, and about 25 yards across. It was massive for only housing one creature. A long spiraling hallway circled the tank all the way up, lined with windows into the tank and connecting other offices. Several more larger windows, just like the one Gavin stood at now, were placed strategically around the tank, but weren't as often used. Gavin's desk and resources were mostly at the bottom level.

Gavin flicked a switch on the wall next to the large tank window. A red light next to him blinked on and off several times before he flipped the switch off again. He knew several matching lights were blinking inside the large tank. It was a signal that the creature in the tank was trained to respond to.

Gavin waited for the creature to show; the main subject of his research. He eyed the plants at the bottom, gently swaying in the artificial current. They looked like the creature tried to nibble them. He would have to adjust the recommended diet, or perhaps provide more enrichment tools. Maybe the thing was bored, not hungry. Gavin would be bored too, if left all alone day and night for most of his life. He smiled as the plants swayed more violently as the creature swam closer to meet Gavin.

“Hello, Jeremy,” Gavin called happily even though he knew the thing in the tank could not hear him. Gavin's face lit up at the Jeremy swam into view. It was strange. No matter how many times you see a merman, it always makes you smile. And Jeremy was, by far, his favorite merperson.

He had been found as a pup out in the warm waters off the coast in the Florida Keys; seemingly abandoned. The fisherman that turned him in to the program said that they had watched him cry and shriek by a buoy all day before they finally threw a net at him, scooping him up. No other mers were in sight. Nothing came to attack the fishing boat. Nothing even screeched at them to try to scare them away from the pup. Very curious and upsetting. Mercreatures were usually very protective of their young.

Gavin had theorized that he had been left behind due to his strange coloring. That sometimes happened in the wild. Having something so obviously different would attract predators, and make hunting difficult. Jeremy was by far the most uniquely colored mercreature he had ever seen. His bright purple tail reflected the artificial light as he swam and spun in front of the window, obviously excited to see Gavin.

Gavin had seen pictures from when he was a pup. He was almost all purple, with only a few orange scales speckled about. Now, fully grown, the orange rings near his middle and bright canary yellow lines down his length were quite the striking contrast to the beautiful purple. The sheer orange webbing in his fin would occasionally catch the sun light and appear opalescent. He was stunning.

But Gavin understood vaguely why other mers might find that startling. Almost all other mercreatures on record had dark tails; shades of black, brown, and grays, and only one bright accent color. Usually rings or stripes. Rarely both. The animal kingdom was not a place known for accepting differences.

Gavin had tested many of Jeremy's scales over the years, trying to determine what had genetically happened to create such a unique combination, but had eventually given up. It didn't particularly matter to his research anyway.

Now, he was much more focused on his latest project. Gavin held a large flash card up against the glass for Jeremy to see. Just simple math this morning. Jeremy rolled his rich honey colored eyes at the scientist and held up three fingers. Gavin laughed.

“Alright, alright, just warming you up.” He held up a harder, longer, equation. Jeremy blew bubbles while he thought and eventually held up eight fingers. Gavin smiled and nodded. “Right again.” He held up another, but paused as his office phone began to ring. “Hold on.” He tapped the glass with two fingers, his practiced sign that he wanted Jeremy to wait there for him to return. The merman settled against the sand and gravel at the bottom of the tank as Gavin ran to answer the phone.

“Gavin Free. … Alright. Be right up.”

Gavin returned to see Jeremy gently nibbling on the plants. Why was he doing that? Gavin flicked the light again to get his attention and Jeremy perked up, swimming excitedly towards the window. Gavin mimed as he spoke.

“I have to go talk to my boss. You go play.” Gavin held his hand up to the glass and pouted while the merman did the same, pulling his face into a sad disappointed frown. “Don't worry, I'll be back soon. Hopefully, with good news.”

The elevator ride up to Trevor's office short, but today felt like it took forever. His boss didn't say what he needed to talk to Gavin about, but he hoped his research and recent proposal was going to be the topic on the table.

The more time Gavin spent studying the mercreatures, the more he and his colleagues were really understanding that these were very intelligent creatures, with intellect that could perhaps rival their own human intelligence. It had taken Gavin years, but he was finally able to prove that they could understand human speech, even if they could not replicate it with their own vocal cords. They had their own language, which humans had intense difficulty figuring out. They could solve complex problems and puzzles and even be taught to read. In Gavin's mind, that could only lead to one logical conclusion; their captivity was cruel and inhumane and all the specimens should be released back into the wild. As the elevator dinged and Gavin stepped out into chaos and wet floor signs, he doubted this meeting would be what he hoped for.

Gavin walked down the sopping wet hallway, walking slowly and carefully so as to not slip. Several members of a large cleaning crew were trying to mop, soak, and vacuum up a huge quantity of salty water from the floor. They ignored him as he passed, too frantic to be bothered with his presence. Gavin stopped in front of his boss's door and knocked soundly on the open door frame, to alert the other man of his arrival. Dr Trevor Collins, who had had his head in his hand, covering his eyes, jumped a little at the sound.

“Doctor Free, good, you're here. Please, come in. Have a seat.”

“Thank you, sir.” Gavin sat in the large office chair on the opposite side of the desk. At least the water hadn't gotten in here. “Quite the commotion out there this morning.”

“Yes, actually, that's what I need to speak with you about.” Trevor paused and sighed looking like he was trying to find the words, or the will. “Free, I know you've spent most of your time with the abandoned pup.”

“Jeremy. Yes, and he's not a pup any more, sir. He's fully grown.”

“Yes, yes, or course. Your work with him has been excellent, ground breaking, and fascinating to say the least.”

“Thank you, sir. But um, what does that have to do with all the water in the hall?”

“Have you gotten a chance to meet the new specimen that was brought in?”

Gavin's stomach dropped. He knew exactly the creature Trevor was referring to. He was a large black finned warrior merman. Gavin remembered admiring the two bright blue rings on his tail before gazing into his cold blue eyes. He was mean and strong. From what they had learned of the mer tribes, these warrior mer people were not something that they could tame. They were vicious killers whose only job was to protect their tribes and their territory. Gavin had no idea how the thing had managed to get caught in the fishing nets out in the pacific, or how they had managed to subdue it long enough to get it here and in a tank; but Gavin wanted nothing to do with him.

“Yes, Dr. Collins. I've seen him. Why?”

“He's going to be added to your tank.”

“What?! Sir, No!”

“We don't have a choice, Free!”

“What's wrong with his current tank?”

“He broke the glass with his tail.” Trevor rubbed his hands over his face. Ah, yes, hence the water.

“He's not a good specimen, sir. Just release him back into the wild.”

“You know we can't do that, Free. I know your proposal. I know your work. But right now the mer studies programs are still active and we need the research subjects.

“Sir, Jeremy is separate for a reason. That thing will attack him. That thing could kill him.”

“No other mercreature has outright attacked your boy previously. Just shunned and bullied him. Your tank is the strongest one we have. He won't be able to break it. So, he's going in your tank.”

“What about the other mer tanks?”

“He broke three already. We can't afford to try the others, they're all made with the same type of glass.” Trevor pulled Advil out of his desk as he spoke, obviously having a worse day than Gavin had realized. “We've had to transfer the mers in the broken tanks into the main marine life tanks. Its' all tight living quarters right now.”

“But, Sir -!”

“I've tried to keep you and your boy out of this for as long as I could, but I don't have any other options, Free. I'm sorry. He's being transferred into your tank tomorrow afternoon.”

“What about the dolphin enclosure?”

“Too shallow.”

“The belugas?”

“Glass is too thin and it already has three other displaced mers in it.”

“The sea lions?”

“Too small and already has a relocated mer pup and female. Gavin, we've been through all the tanks we have. All the possibilities. I know this isn't ideal, but it's our only option. Tomorrow afternoon we're adding that mer to your tank. That's final. I suggest you take this time to try to prep your boy. Who knows, maybe they'll get along.”

“All other mers have always rejected Jeremy. Why would a vicious killer be any different?”

Gavin trudged out of Trevor's office, slamming the door behind himself and marching back down the hall towards the elevators. He resisted the urge to stomp his feel angrily in the water soaking the floor. This was a horrible idea.

He weaved around the multitude of workers moving quickly and desperately trying to clean the water from the floor and stop the leaking tank. He eyed the crack wearily as he passed. It was a huge splintering line across the whole pane, still spurting a massive amount of water, even as several workers tried to seal it off. It was going to take a lot more than flex tape to fix that.

Finally back in the relative safety of the elevator, Gavin knocked his head against the cool metal of the back wall as he road it back down to his office. This was possibly the worst news he could have gotten. How was he going to explain this to Jeremy? Would the young mer even understand him? How would be even begin to protect the poor male? How would he get to him if he got hurt? Gavin rubbed his temples as he stepped off the elevator. This was giving him a headache.

He eyed the glass as he walked by the tank window to his desk. No sign of the brightly colored boy. He must be sunning. Good. Let him relax. Advil first. Then, attempt to deal with this mess.

*~*~*~*

Gavin hadn't known what to say to Jeremy to “prepare” him for what was coming. In fact, he had spent most of the remaining work day yesterday and this morning avoiding the mer. It was hard to look him in his big trusting eyes, knowing that he couldn't protect him from the impending danger.

He made his way up to the top of the warrior mer's tank the afternoon of the transfer. He wanted to get a better look at the thing, and perhaps plead with his boss one more time to see reason. He joined the dark haired man on the platform surrounding the broken tank currently housing the warrior and two other specimens. Three mercreatures had already been moved out of the tank that morning. Most of the water had drained out of the tank, what was left didn't leave the very large mer much room to swim around. The two other mers in the tank were currently being carefully herded and lifted out of the shallow waters to get them into their own temporary tanks. The poor creatures looked panicked and clung to each other, screeching wildly. It made Gavin's heart hurt.

The warrior mer was trapped on the other side of the tank. The water had drained enough and the rocks were set up in such a way that it created three separate pools. He was isolated from the other two. But that certainly didn't mean he couldn't hear and sense the other's distress. He swam quickly through his small shallow area., seemingly checking for weaknesses in the rocks; occasionally punching them and smacking them with his tail. Fortunately, for all parties involved, the shallow water did not allow him to strike with all his potential strength. He tried leaping out of the water to climb over the rocks, but again the shallow water saved everyone by not allowing him the momentum or angle he required. He was in a prison of his own making.

Gavin wondered if he somehow new that. If he was trying to reach the other two mers because he knew he had caused this situation, which resulted in their current distress.

The young scientist jumped in surprise as the male lifted his head out of the water and let out a fierce deep roar. He had never heard a mercreature roar in person before. He had only heard recordings from the wild. It was deafening, and distressing, and sent a chill down his spine.

Usually the sounds the mercreatures made were limited to chirp type sounds and higher pitched screeches, squeals, and yells. The deep roar of a warrior was very out of place and unusual, even in the wild.

Once the two other mers were safely removed from the water and being safely transported through the facility, the aggressive mer calmed down a bit. It wasn't that he seemed less aggressive; more just that once he couldn't hear the distress of the others, he had resigned himself to his defeat. He settled himself in the sand, tail and belly flat against the bottom, while he curved his chest up so he could glare and bare his teeth at the scientists watching him from above.

“That was quite the display.” Someone around him spoke quietly. Everyone else just seemed too uneasy to respond, only nod in agreement, amazement, or shock.

As a second crew began to set up to move the warrior, many of the scientists began to move away. Those who were left were just those who had to be. Gavin moved closer to Trevor to beg one last time.

“Dr Collins... Trevor, please, there has to be another way. That thing is a monster. He'll destroy Jeremy.”

“Gavin, I'm sorry, I truly am. But when I said I was out of options, I meant it. We have no choice. I don't like this either.”

“I don't know, Free. Your little subject might be safe.” Another dark haired man with tan skin walked over to them to join the discussion. Gavin scowled at him.

“You can't possibly be serious, Diaz. Were you not just standing here? Weren't you watching?”

“Of course I was, Gavin. Listen, he's been my project since he's arrived, I've done nothing but watch him. Now, he's attacked all of us, destroyed habitats, and broke just about every window he could get his fin on, but he hasn't attacked any other mer he's been housed with. He may not have gotten along with them, but he never attacked them.”

“Alfredo, he's just too aggressive! We can't possibly learn from him if he doesn't cooperate. We should just release him! Trevor, please, there's still time...” Alfredo stepped between Gavin and Trevor, getting in his face and stopping his pleas.

“Hey! Maybe you can't learn anything form him! But I don't shove my nose into your work, stay out of mine. Being able to study a warrior class mercreature is immensely rare. The last one that as ever captured was only because he was so old he couldn't fight it. I don't need him to solve stupid math problems, I just need to watch what he does naturally.”

“Well, looks like we're going to be research buddies, Diaz. Shall I clear a desk for you? I'll make sure it's free of stupid math problems.” Gavin gritted out as he stepped closer, trying to be intimidating. Gavin, as a general rule of thumb, was not intimidating.

“Hey, I don't want him in your tank either, Free. All my research says he'd be better suited elsewhere.” Trevor rubbed at his eyes tiredly at having to hear the same arguments from both men over and over again.

“I told you a million times, Diaz. We can't risk any of the other tanks on your hunch.”

“It's not a hunch, sir!” Alfredo backed away from Gavin in order to better address their boss. “It's just not proven yet.”

“Alfredo...”

“Just put him with the females, please! I'm sure he'll calm down!”

“What?” Gavin looked between the two men in confusion. Trevor sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Dr Diaz believes that the warrior will calm down and be more cooperative if he had a mate.”

“It's mating season in the area where he was picked up. They all take mates in the wild, that's not up for debate.”

“No, it's not. But he was in two other tanks with multiple females already, at your request. This is the third he's destroyed. Not a single sign of any interest in any of them.”

“Don't they mate for life?” Gavin didn't know much about mating practices among the wild mer tribes, but he knew enough to know they didn't do much sleeping around. “Maybe he's being more selective. Or maybe he has a mate already back with his tribe. He looks old enough where he should have found one already.”

“Either way, we can't risk any more tanks. Now listen, the both of you, the permanent residence tank is the only one that will hold him. That's where he's going. That's final.”

“What if we moved some of the females into the tank as well, just for a bit, just to see if he takes to them. It's big enough.”

“Now, hold on just a minute! Suddenly, this is a conversation about how much we can torture Jeremy!”

“ALRIGHT! I've heard enough out of you two! The warrior is going in Gavin's tank. Just the warrior! This topic is closed.” Trevor left no room for argument as he left the platform.

Gavin turned his attention away from glaring at Alfredo and back to the tank. He honestly felt bad for the creature. He didn't want anything to do with him, but that didn't mean he was heartless. The relocation team was currently trying to box him in a corner so they could subdue him enough to move onto the relocation palate.

Gavin hated that palate. He hated seeing an intelligent creature strapped down to a cold unforgiving surface against their will. They had to use it for Jeremy in the past when other, more comfortable, methods were unavailable or out of service. At least with Jeremy he had been there to reassure the young mer. He had also been able to give Jeremy a mild sedative. That would have been risky with the warrior. No one had been able to get close enough to him to test him for allergies.

Gavin moved further away from the tank as the mer growled loudly. The relocation crew had successfully hooked a catch pole around his tail and one arm. He was trying to pull them off the platform and into the water, but they were attached to the scaffolding surrounding the top; otherwise he would have, absolutely, been successful.

Gavin didn't want to stay to see the rest. He had no real reason to be up here anymore. He wasn't a sadist, he didn't need to watch this poor creature be tormented. Alfredo looked about as uncomfortable as he felt. Gavin turned to head back to the elevators.

“Are you coming, Alfredo? Or are you staying to support your subject?”

“Honestly, I'm not sure he recognizes me as either a friend or foe. I've mostly only watched his behavior from a distance. I didn't want to influence his natural instincts.” Alfredo fell into step next to him as they made their way to Gavin's tank. Gavin glanced back at the creature struggling, but couldn't handle more than a glance. The poor thing must feel so alone.

“What exactly is the nature of your research, Fredo?”

“I've been studying the different roles and hierarchy in the tribes. Even here in captivity all the mercreatures have seemed to form pseudo-tribes to replace what they had in the wild. They're very social creatures. Well, all except your male.”

“Well, it wasn't by his choice.”

“No, but it is exceptionally strange. Did you know that when a new subject is added to a tank, they are almost immediately accepted into whatever pseudo-tribe is there? They have a new role within a couple of days. I can't explain what happened with your subject that lead to his abandonment, or why all the other subjects have rejected him so fiercely. Unfortunately, I also can't explain why the warrior hasn't been accepted either.”

“He hasn't?”

“Not really. I think he first tank we tried accepted him, but he rejected them. The two tribes in the other tanks we tried were probably scared. He got more aggressive the more we moved him. I really had hoped one of the females would fascinate him, calm him enough to properly study his behavior.”

“So if he gets more aggressive the more you move him, and this is his third move since he got here... Do you really think Jeremy will be safe?”

“Like I said, he's been aggressive, but he hasn't straight out attacked any of the other subjects.”

“But you said you can't explain why Jeremy has been rejected. Isn't it possible whatever caused his rejection will anger the warrior more?”

“... I don't think either of us can do anything about that now. Probably best not to worry about it until... unless it happens.”

“Well, I'm certainly reassured by your confidence.”

Gavin and Alfredo walked into the dark space at the bottom floor of his tank. He tapped his computer checking the cameras for Jeremy. He was sunning on the large rock at the top; for the moment, safe and content. Gavin found himself digging though his desk drawers for Advil for the third time that day. This was more of a disaster than he could have thought was possible. Alfredo went over and picked up a stack of flashcards from in front of the large window.

“Can he really solve all these?” He flipped through them, impressed. “I guess I didn't give him or you enough credit. This is a word problem! Can he read?” Alfredo pulled a card from the stack and showed it to Gavin amazed. Gavin just laughed.

“A bit. I've been trying to throw more word problems into his daily puzzles. He's normally pretty good, but yesterday...” Gavin trailed off and his smile dropped from his face. Alfredo looked at him strangely.

“Free? You okay. You having a stroke or something?”

“Yesterday. We were interrupted by Trevor... I never finished the stack. A-and I was too upset this morning... Alfredo, I never warned him. He doesn't know what's about to happen.” Gavin leapt up from his chair and took off running down the spiral hall around the tank, desperate to get to the top and warn Jeremy, Alfredo trailing closely behind him.

*~*~*~*

Jeremy was sunning happily on his rock in the late day sun when he saw Gavin emerge from the lower levels in a panic. He slid back into the water and over to the frazzled dry lander, worry creasing his forehead. He chirped quietly at him as Gavin rushed over to his side along with another male in a white coat.

“Jeremy, you need to hide. Do you understand? Hide.” Gavin bent down to grasp onto this hands. Jeremy was confused. Hide. Hide? Why did he need to hide?

“Gavin, can he really understand you? He looks confused.”

“Of course he can, you slag! Jeremy, you understand, right? Hide!” A loud roar that sent a chill down Jeremy's spine jolted him out of his confusion. He turned and saw one of the movement devices approaching. He was familiar with those devices. They were bringing another mer here. “Jeremy!” The young mer turned back to Gavin, bottom lip quivering. What was happening? The darker skinned man next to Gavin looked concerned. “You need to go hide. Do you understand?” Jeremy didn't hesitate this time. He nodded firmly and took off under the water. He made it behind the large rocks of his cave just as he felt the water ripple with the addition of whatever was on device.

Jeremy tucked his tail further behind the rocks, he didn't want it to give him away. A growl and a quick flash of black made Jeremy cover his mouth to keep in his nervous chirps. What the hell was that!? Why would they bring it here? He shakily poked his head out and saw it was another merman. He was huge! The other merman seemed to be following the progress of the white coated dry landers as they raced around the tank to the bottom. He growled loudly at them as they descended. When they got to the bottom the dark finned mer punched the glass with his fist before rushing back up to the top.

Jeremy hid amoungst the rocks while the huge mer quickly swam around the edges of the tank. He ducked down further and did his best to stifle his whimpers as he watched the powerful creature use his massive black tail to smack against the all glass repeatedly. The shock wave it sent through the water felt like punches to the chest for Jeremy, but he stayed put.

He hoped Gavin would save him. Gavin had always saved him in the past. Whenever he was being bullied or harassed, Gavin always stepped in and got him out. With the other mer preoccupied with the windows above him, he dared to peek around the rocks to the window were the man normally called him. He was still there, looking horrified. If he could get to him, maybe he could signal for help! Jeremy snuck out further from the rocks to try to get his attention.

Just as he thought the man may have seen him, the larger mer was back, smacking his tail viciously against the window. The men on the other side of the glass jumped back, but the glass held strong. The larger mer growled loudly when he realized the glass was too strong to break. He hissed at the men standing at the glass, then forced his penis out of his genital slit and pressed it against the glass. He smacked the window with his fin several more times before hissing again, retracting his penis, and swimming off into Jeremy's cave.

Jeremy eyed the window, then eyed the cave. If the other mer came out of the cave, he was done for. He fought the urge to whine as he sunk back into the sand behind the rocks. As the lights began to dim with the setting sun, Jeremy curled his tail around himself and tried to let sleep take him.


	2. Strange Behavior

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read and comment and leave kudos! It means a lot to me. And I noticed that some of my old work got a little attention too, so thank you to everyone who saw this and went to check it out. I do have every intention to continue that series, I've just been stuck in merman land for a bit. 
> 
> So, really this chapter is just a way to get to what I really enjoyed writing... which is the next chapter... but omg does that chapter need a lot of work and have a lot of holes in it O.o ... I hope this holds you guys over for now and until I can get something completed that I can be mildly proud of. <3

**Chapter 2 Strange Behavior**

Jeremy woke to the harsh, bright, artificial lights at the bottom of the tank being slowly turned on with the morning sun. He blinked, dazed and confused, trying to get his eyes to focus. He normally woke much later and it was never this bright in his cave.

Realization hit him like a rock to the head. He wasn't in his cave. The other mer was. He had fallen asleep in the rocks and sand outside.

Jeremy slowly rose up to peek over the rocks. Was it safe yet? Was that scary other male gone yet? Was Gavin coming to help him?

A quick look at the large dark window gave him at least one answer. Gavin was not here yet, and therefore, would not be coming to help. Maybe it was too early for the young dry lander. Jeremy knew he did not live in the facility like Jeremy and the other mers did.

He knew the world was vast beyond the boundaries of the water; and most beings didn't stay in one small area. Gavin had used to show him pictures of all the things on dry land. It was a lot like the water, just less wet and a lot bigger. It had tall plants, and fields of green, and huge rocks, and great patches of sand that stretched on forever. Really the only way to tell that the pictures were of dry land were the lack of ocean creatures.

The man had also showed him pictures of the wild ocean. It was beautiful and looked a lot like his tank, and most of the other tanks he had been in before. Jeremy preferred his tank though. He liked the safety of its walls. Well... it used to be safe.

Jeremy looked up as a large shadow passed across the sand near him. The other mer was up and out of the cave. He looked like he was checking the walls again. In the brighter light, and now that he wasn't moving so fast, Jeremy was able to get a better look at him.

He was massive. The larger mer was black scaled with two distinct rich blue rings close to where his scales stopped. His whole tail was much longer than Jeremy's and generally thicker too. His fin was a good deal winder and unlike Jeremy's, which had more delicate almost sheer webbing through the middle. The other mer had tough looking skin that matched his tail in color. He supposed that's what allowed him to hit the windows so fiercely. The unscaled top of his body was a paler color, maybe a bit lighter than Jeremy's own. The hair on his head was lighter too, shining a rich dark gold in the artificial light.

As he swam closer to Jeremy from above, the smaller mer tucked himself back down again, trying to hide his tail. The brightly colored appendage had always been trouble for him in the past. Really, he would give his whole damn arm to just be brown right now. At least then he would be able to blend in with the rocks.

The other mer continued to explore the side of the tank, making his way further down towards Jeremy. If he swam any closer, he would surely notice the bright unnatural creature curled up under him. From this close Jeremy could almost make out the larger tough individual scales lining the underside of his tail. Jeremy had to bite his tongue and cover his mouth in an effort to keep his terrified whimpers from leaving him

He remained undiscovered though as fish, shrimp, and various tentacles began to float to the bottom of the tank. The dark finned mer swam off to investigate. Saved by the morning meal.

Jeremy looked around desperately. There had to be an answer to this problem somewhere. That's what Gavin had always taught him. There was an answer to all problems, he just needed to open his mind and find it. Eureka! There was a sizable kelp within reach. He checked to make sure the other mer wasn't looking and snuck along the sand to quietly and gently bite it off near the base. He slowly and gently pulled it down to himself and wrapped up his tail, trying not to disturb the water.

Wrapped up and better hidden, Jeremy could now focus on the next problem. Food. Checking again, he found that the large mer had already gathered up everything he could have easily reached, making a large pile near the entrance to his cave. If he wanted anything, he would have to come out from behind the rocks fully.

As he debated his options, more variables were thrown into his problem, as the light turned on behind the glass. Warm light flooded the bottom of the tank and Jeremy subconsciously sunk down deeper into his hiding spot as he heard the low rumbling growl of the larger mer building.

The other male rocketed over to the glass to strike it with his tail again. The resulting shock felt stronger than yesterday. He must have been worn out when they had brought him here. Jeremy poked his head out again and was barely able to make out Gavin and two other dark haired dry landers on the other side of the glass right before the light was shut off again, concealing them in darkness.

That didn't deter the other mer from attacking. He kept smacking the window, circling close to the cave, then speeding over to the glass to smack it again. It was making Jeremy's chest and head hurt from the constant harsh vibrations rippling through the water.

About when Jeremy didn't think he could take it anymore, the smacking stopped. Jeremy peeked around the rock and saw the other mer had seemingly lost interest and returned to the food; which Jeremy still saw no safe way of getting.

Honestly, he didn't think he wanted to get the food any more anyway. If he was so hungry, let him have it. He sunk back down behind the rocks and pressed his hands to his temples. He hoped the other mer was done throwing a fit for now. Jeremy curled up in the kelp and sand and rocks, buried his head under his arms, and tried to will himself back to sleep and out of this waking nightmare.

*~*~*~*~*~

Gavin rushed through the main concourse the morning after the transfer. He wasn't late, in fact he was a bit early, but he was desperate to check on Jeremy. His dreams had been filled with purple scales floating through blood clouded water and rich honey eyes silently begging for help.

In his frantic rushing to get to his office, he nearly toppled two sleepy interns, spilling one's coffee; and absolutely did not hold the elevator for the woman who worked in the dolphin enclosure. They had made eye contact as Gavin frantically smashed his finger against the door close button. Did this button actually do anything? It didn't feel like it did. The woman shook her head at him as she changed course for the stairs and the elevator doors _finally_ closed. He could feel bad later. After he checked on Jeremy.

Rocketing out of the elevator he crashed directly into Alfredo who had been standing just outside his office talking to Trevor.

“Jesus Christ, Free! Calm down!”

“Sorry! Sorry. Excuse me. Sorry.” Gavin unnecessarily began brushing not existent dirt off of Alfredo, hands shaking.

“Gavin, slow down. Breathe” Alfredo grabbed his hands to stop Gavin's brushing.

“Slow down! I need to check on Jeremy! What if he was hurt during the night? How would we even get to him?! What if he's dead already! What if-”

“Gavin!” Trevor grabbed onto his shoulders to settle him. “I've had security check the cams all night. The warrior didn't leave the cave, and your boy seems to have hidden all night. It's been quiet.” Gavin was surprised Trevor had even thought to have the tank monitored at night. It was probably more to make sure the warrior didn't crack it, and less about Jeremy's safety. But just because the night security didn't see any fight, didn't mean he was uninjured.

“Trevor... I just... I need to see that he's okay.” The other men let go of him and all three moved forward together.

Upon entering his office the three scientists were greeted by the calming sight of the large warrior gathering the morning food from the sand and making a pile near the cave.

“That's a good sign.” Alfredo stepped around the other two to get a better look. “He seems calmer now and he wasn't really eating before.”

“Well, he doesn't seem to be actually eating anything, just making a pile. Strange.” Trevor stepped up to the glass as well to watch while Gavin scanned the tank, an unsettling feeling in his gut steadily increasing.

“That's all well and good; but where's Jeremy?”

“Sir?”

A small soft voice spoke from somewhere on the other side of the large room right before the overhead lights flicked on. The bright lights flooded the bottom of the tank, over taking the soft glow of the lights within. All eyes widened as they met the cold steel blue of the creature inside.

The large mer abandoned his mellow task and quickly changed course to start attacking the window, smacking the thick panel with his strong massive tail.

“Turn it off! Turn it off!” Gavin shouted, eyes still glued to the tank.

The young intern on the other side of the room frantically started flicking all the switches on the wall in a terrified attempt to shut the lights off again.

“I'm sorry, sir! I'm sorry! I-I heard voices! There's u-u-usually no one here this early!”

The room was plunged back into relative darkness as she found the right one; the only light coming from the soft lights in the tank. This didn't stop the warrior though. Was it possible he could still see them? His eyes were so striking and unlike the other mers they normally studied. Did warriors have better night vision than the average mer? It would be very useful to warriors to see in the dark.

“Move up to mid-level. Maybe he'll stop if we leave.” Trevor began herding everyone out of the room and towards the hall that surrounded the tank.

“Sir, what about Jeremy? I don't see him in there.”

“We'll find him later, it's not like we could have walked out. Just get away from the window, Free.” Alfredo grabbed his shoulders and forcibly steered him into the hallway.

“He can't break that can he, sir?” The young intern looked frozen in place and Trevor gently steered her into the hall in a more appropriate version of what Alfredo was doing to Gavin.

“Let's not test it. Let's just move away. Come along.”

As Trevor predicted, not long after they had left the view of the large window, the loud banging ceased.

“Tessa, go tell everyone to turn off all the overhead lights outside the tank and keep them off. Quickly!”

Tessa, the intern, ran off to spread Gavin's instructions while Gavin ran ahead to get to the next closest window. Once there he could see the warrior finishing his food collection, but still no sign of Jeremy. Where was he? That monster didn't eat him, did he? They weren't known cannibals. No. No, that wasn't possible. Trevor and Alfredo caught up to him frantically scanning the tank from the much smaller window.

“Do you see him? I can't find him!”

“How do you normally find him? This tank is huge!” Alfredo poked his head into the window next to Gavin, who resisted the urge to shove him out of his space.

“I have lights. Different colors for different locations.”

“I think we should avoid any more lights for now...” Trevor stood behind the two other men, the current viewing window was a bit small for all three of them.

“Where was he yesterday?”

“He hid behind the cave when the warrior was first added. But he couldn't have stayed back there all night...”

“Well, I see a bunch of kelp...”

“What?! Where?”

Alfredo pointed to the rocks over by the edge of the tank behind the cave, which had been constructed for privacy. There was a large bundle of kelp nestled in the sand behind the rocks, not far from where a tuft of green was poking out of the sand.

“Clever boy. He must have wrapped up his tail for camouflage.” Gavin was infinitely proud of the young mer. What a clever solution to a problem. Trevor peered over both of their heads to peek into the tank.

“He's not moving.”

“He's probably scared stiff after _that_ display. I know I was...” Alfredo backed up to allow Trevor room to see as well.

“But he needs to eat. The warrior has all the food gathered.” Gavin raked his fingers through his hair while he worried and tried to will Jeremy to move. Just a little movement. Just show that he was alive. Please.

“Let's worry about that after we check on his health. Gavin, maybe we _should_ try the lights. Call him to the surface, see if he responds.”

“Sir, that would expose him to the warrior.”

“I doubt he's still oblivious to your boy. Kelp or not, there's no way he made it though the night completely undiscovered.” Trevor moved away from the window to stand with Alfredo and give Gavin more room.

“He's right, Gavin, warriors are the guardians of the whole tribe. He would have checked the whole area multiple time before going to sleep. He's got to know he's not alone in there.”

Gavin eyed the bundle of kelp behind the rocks again. Suddenly, he didn't like the look of it. Suddenly, instead of a clever rouse to hide his tail, it was a desperate attempt to hide an injured animal.

Gavin nodded and continued up the spiral hallway, gaining speed as he went, and slowing when he passed by each window to see if he could get a better look at Jeremy. It was very soon a futile effort as he ascended further and further away from the young mer.

At the top of the tank, he flicked the blue switch, activating the blue flashing lights scattered throughout the tank. He let it flash for a bit before he turned them off again. He was desperately scanning the water for any sign of Jeremy when Trevor and Alfredo joined him, having gone at a much less panicked pace.

“Anything?” Trevor leaned over the tank to look further down, as if Jeremy could have possibly been just under Gavin's nose.

“No. Nothing.”

“Maybe try it again? He was tucked so far behind that rock, maybe he didn't see.”

“Um, sir?”

“What, Tessa?”

“Um. Th-the warrior, sir...” Gavin snapped his attention away from the water and over the intern.

“What? What did he do?”

“He um... smashed three of the – the blue lights, sir.”

Gavin glared at Trevor as he passed by him to follow Tessa down into the hallway again. Once he was about three floors down, he got his first good look at the damage.

Honestly, it wasn't that bad. The hard plastic colored shells around the lights were gone, but the lights themselves, embedded in the wall, seemed unharmed. At least they wouldn't have to drain the tank to deal with electrical complications. Once all this was over, he could just have Jeremy snap on a new shell, or scuba in the tank himself and do it. Not with the warrior though. That thing needed to be gone from both of their lives immediately.

“Were they all just the outer shells, Tessa? None of the actual lights were affected?”

“Seems so, sir.”

“Good. Go spread the word. From now on, no more lights of any kind, until I say otherwise.”

Tessa ran off again to spread the new orders. Gavin rubbed at his temples. What a mess.

*~*~*~*~*~

Jeremy awoke again, groggy and disoriented, with a mouthful of sand. He spit and rubbed at his tongue to get the grit out of his mouth. What was happening? Jeremy's stomach ached painfully as he remembered the previous night and the morning he just slept through. He was going to starve to death. This was awful.

His split second of panic at the feeling of his tail feeling trapped was mitigated when he caught sight of the kelp wrapped around it. Stupid kelp. Stupid other mer. Stupid empty stomach.

Where was Gavin? Why hadn't the dry lander saved him yet? Or had he? Was the other mer still there?

Jeremy slowly maneuvered himself so he could peek around the rocks again. Yup. Still there. The larger mer was flopped stomach down in the sand as far away from the large window as he could put himself. His chin was resting on one arm, folded in front of him, while he used the other to poke at a nearby plant and bat around a rock. He looked more bored than dangerous at the moment, but Jeremy knew that to be untrue. His stomach rumbled and tried to eat itself as he watched the other mer do nothing... dangerously.

As Jeremy debated exactly how dangerous the other mer could possibly be while he sulked in the sand, more food began to float down through the water. He must have slept a lot longer than he thought. No wonder he felt like he was starving to death.

The other mer flopped onto his back dramatically, slapped the sand with his tail, and started gathering the food again. No! No, no, no! Jeremy sunk into the sand behind the rock in defeat. Why couldn't he just stay over there, and face away from Jeremy? Okay. Problem solving time. He just needed to wait until he was facing the other way so he could sneak out and grab something... _anything_. He could do this. Jeremy gently unwrapped his tail for better movement. Poking his head around the bottom of the rock, he waited as patiently as he possibly could.

While the dark tailed mer was momentarily preoccupied, facing away from him and gathering the plenty of food dropped in the tank, Jeremy made his move. He inched out from behind his rocks slowly, very slowly, so he didn't disturb the water and alert the other mer. He was desperate to just swim over as fast as he could and scarf anything he could get his mouth around, but he wanted to live after that too. So, he inched along the bottom. He almost had a shrimp in his fingers when he heard a angry hiss. He was so focused on the shrimp he wasn't watching the other male. Crap.

Frantically, Jeremy snatched the shrimp and sped off back behind the relative safety of the rocks. He doubted it would be safe anymore. Shit, shit shit! He had no where to go. He curled as tight as he could into the rocks and waited for his fate … that never came. Uh, fate? You there?

Jeremy lifted his head slowly to meet big blue eyes with iridescent pupils inches from his own face. He shrieked in surprise which also seemed to surprise the other male, but he didn't move. Jeremy pushed himself back and away, getting read to swim and hide. The other male just inched over the rocks and floated closer, eyeing him up. As the male reached out with his hand, Jeremy swam for the surface as fast as he could.

He broke the surface in record time, but still had no where to go now. He screeched out in panic into the open air, hoping one of the dry landers in white coats would come check on him. Come save him! He screeched louder when he felt the water ripple around him as the other male broke the surface. Jeremy plastered himself against the sun rock, now cold from a cloudy day. He whimpered and flicked his tail at the other mer. Not his best defense, but his only defense, so it will have to do. The larger male eyed his tail before batting it away, easily. Jeremy hissed and closed his eyes while he braced for impact.

“Hello.” Jeremy popped one eye open at the deep voice next to him.

“Uh... what?”

“Hello. You dropped this. Are you hungry?” The other mer held a shrimp out for Jeremy to take.

“Thank... you?” Jeremy hesitated eyeing the other male cautiously.

“Here, take it. I won't bite. Unless you want me to.” Jeremy gasped.

“No! No. I – uh – thank you. No biting! Please.” Jeremy quickly plucked the shrimp out of the other mer's out stretched hand, popping it in his mouth. The other male gave him a strange look, but smiled anyway, watching him eat.

“Still hungry?” Jeremy nodded slowly as he chewed.

“Well, come eat with me.” The larger male lightly tapped his tail with his own as he sunk under the water again and waited for Jeremy to follow. Jeremy was cautious as he followed, keeping his distance from the other male. When they got to the bottom, the other male immediately held out one of the gathered fish for Jeremy. Jeremy hesitated and eyed him suspiciously.

“It's alright. They're dead, but they're still edible.” Ryan ate the one in his hand to prove his point and grabbed a tentacle from the pile for Jeremy. Jeremy frowned, but took the tentacle. Of course they were edible. Why would the dry landers feed them things they couldn't eat? Jeremy sucked the whole tentacle into his mouth and the other mer smiled brightly while grabbing more food from the pile.

“What's your name?”

“Jeremy.”

“Hi, Jeremy. I'm Ryan.”

“Hi, Ryan.” Ryan smiled again and held out another fish for him take. Jeremy gladly took it and munched away, happy to be putting something in his empty stomach.

“Have you been in here the whole time?”

“Yeah, I live here.”

“You live here?” Jeremy took the next shrimp Ryan held out and sucked it into his mouth. “Why didn't I see you yesterday?”

“I was hiding.”

“... From me?” Jeremy nodded. Ryan looked sheepish but continued to offer him the gathered food, without really eating much himself. “How long have you been here?”

“Mmm... this tank? Maybe five years.”

“Five years!?”

“Mm-hm. I like this tank. My old one was smaller and the sun rock didn't heat up as much.”

“Oh my god.” Ryan looked distressed and settled into the sand, deflating a bit.

“You don't like it?”

“Wouldn't you rather be in the ocean? With your tribe?”

“I don't have a tribe... and I don't remember the ocean...”

“Bastards... okay. That's okay. It's going to be okay.” Jeremy didn't know if he was telling himself or Jeremy. “But what about the other mer people here. They've had me in several enclosures, they have more mer people captured. Why are you off by yourself in the biggest prison?”

“...Tank... it's called a tank. And uh, well, the other mers travel around. I live here and work with Gavin. And I'm separate because the other mers don't like me. You're not one of the regular traveling mers, are you Ryan? Are you from the wild?”

“Yes... I live in the ocean. I was captured recently while trying to protect my tribe. Now, wait... wait wait wait. Back up. Who's Gavin and what do you mean the other mers don't like you?” Jeremy looked around at the tank and caught sight of Gavin at a mid level window. He appeared to be arguing with another dark haired man in white.

“That's Gavin!” Jeremy smiled and shoved another fish in his mouth before swimming up to greet him. Ryan looked startled. By the time Jeremy got to the window, Gavin had practically plastered himself against the glass looking horrified. Jeremy lined their hands up and smiled reassuringly at the man. “This is Gavin.”

Before Jeremy could recognize what was happening, he was yanked away from the glass by Ryan. The larger mer hissed and put himself between Jeremy and the glass, smacking it with his large fin again, and sending another harsh shock wave through the water.

“No no! He's nice! Really!”

“They took your from your home! They took you out of the ocean and put you in this little prison! They're your captors! They're not nice!” Ryan growled at him and pushed him further away from the window.

Jeremy averted his eyes at Ryan's furious look. He watched Gavin pound on the glass behind Ryan. The small man wasn't even strong enough to move the water. That didn't seem to matter to him as he pounded away with both fists. Jeremy floated backwards a bit to try to put some space between himself and the obviously angry larger male. He shrunk in on himself a bit as he spoke quietly without looking up at him.

“I-I don't have a home, Ryan. My tribe abandoned me when I was a pup. Gavin's taken care of me for many years now. He says he's trying to set us all free. I'm sorry if you don't like it here, but... this is the best place I've ever had.”

Ryan's anger wilted a bit and he turned to regard the man still silently pounding and seeming screaming on the other side of the glass. He blew bubbles while the looked back and forth between the man and Jeremy. He raked his eyes over Jeremy's brightly colored tail.

“Fine. But I still don't like that dark haired one.”

Ryan glared at the glass while he scooped Jeremy up with his long tail, wrapping it around Jeremy's own, using his arms to keep them both buoyant. Behind him, Gavin looked as shocked as Jeremy felt.

“Uh... Ryan? What... uh... what are you doing?”

“Hm?” Ryan seemed unconcerned with his own strange behavior.

“Is this something other mer people do?” Jeremy rested his hands against the well muscled chest of the other mer while trying to get a better look at what Ryan was doing with his tail.

“Has no one ever done with to you?”

“Uh... no.” Ryan seemed pleased by that and wrapped around him tighter, rubbing their fins together. It felt strange, but also nice. Jeremy felt a content feeling of safety wash over him.

“Good.”

“Uh... okay... but what-” Ryan produced another shrimp out of seemingly no where and poked it into Jeremy's mouth while he tried to speak. Jeremy chewed, confused by both the behavior of the other mer and by where he had pulled that shrimp from. Ryan just seemed pleased to watch him eat and continued flexing his tail around Jeremy. At least he wasn't smacking the glass anymore. What a strange mer.

~*~*~*~

Gavin took a step back from the glass in awe, watching the display with rapped attention.

“Remarkable. Utterly Remarkable.”

“Free, have I gone insane, or is the warrior courting your boy?” Trevor seemed about as shocked as he felt as well.

“I believe he is, sir. Extraordinary.”

“I wasn't aware mer people exhibited homosexual behavior.”

“Neither was I. Fascinating. Are the cameras still recording?” Gavin looked around and got a thumbs up from an intern behind them by some computers. “Excellent, I want to see what lead up to this. Someone should alert Dr. Diaz immediately.”

“Your boy looks confused.”

“I imagine so. This is the only affection any other of his species has ever shown him and it's... intense. I'm sure his instincts will kick in soon and he'll figure it out.”

“Are you sure?”

The larger mer caught Trevor's eyes in the window again and bared his teeth before unwrapping himself from Jeremy and shooing him back down to the bottom of the tank. While Jeremy had his back turned, he quickly swam back up to the window, pressing his large penis against the glass right in front of Trevor. He smacked the glass with it twice before he pulled it back into himself, baring his teeth again. He glanced at Gavin once more, but showed no sign of aggression; only blew a few bubbles at him before swimming quickly after Jeremy. Gavin snorted a laugh at his boss's shocked, scandalized, face.

“I don't think he likes you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there we go. Like all my fics... it seems like maybe Ryan has a temper problem... but at least they finally met. 
> 
> I don't know when I'll update next... but I do intend to update. Winter is strange time for me... a confusing mix of too busy to handle and too weak to get much done. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this, even a little. And like I said, the next chapter will be a lot more fun... Ryan "courting" Jeremy... I just need to rip out of my brain and slam it forcefully into a notebook -_- ... it's a fighter, guys... It's a fighter. But I'll get it! You'll see... 
> 
> Comments and kudos are very much loved and appreciated (if I need motivation I usually go back and look at comments and see the people that want me to keep going... so this one if for you guys!)
> 
> Take care of yourselves out there!   
> ~Evangeline


	3. A Confusing Courtship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys... I actually wrote some thing that I like. FINALLY! I'm so excited to share it with you! So, I hope you guys like it too! 
> 
> I've also re-realized something that I already knew about myself... when writing long stories I probably shouldn't publish chapter by chapter until I have the whole thing written... I tend to want to go back and add things that should have been mentioned earlier... for example... I forgot that in the pieces I had written previously (which all need to be connected now), our mer boys have gills on the sides of their necks. So they have a gill cover (being a slit) on each side. Guys, don't ask me how that respiratory system works in conjunction with their lungs allowing them to be out of water for long periods of time, because I have no idea... ah, the joys of fiction and fictional creatures. 
> 
> Anyway... Thank you for the comments and the kudos! They really kept me going during some not so fun life things. <3 I hope this continues to earn all my previously given kudos.

Chapter 3 A Confusing Courtship

Jeremy awoke peacefully in his cave and stretched his arms above his head. Looking around he didn't see Ryan in the cave with him, and it wasn't as if there were any places for him to hide in there. He was sure the larger mer had fallen asleep in there with him. Maybe he was an early riser. Maybe he was sunning. That actually sounded like a nice idea; Jeremy was a little chilly.

Exiting the cave and scanning the tank, it was strange not seeing Ryan. He didn't like it. The other mer had only been there a couple of days, and he had really only met him yesterday afternoon. Why did it feel so distressing to not see him immediately?

Perhaps it was because he had never really gotten along with another mer before. Jeremy didn't really like to think about it, but he was lonely. Gavin was nice, but he couldn't provide Jeremy with company all day; and he couldn't understand when Jeremy spoke. One sided conversations and miming really only provided so much companionship before they became more mentally exhausting than they were worth.

Ryan was very different in that regard. He didn't talk a lot like Gavin. He just asked questions and watched Jeremy intently as he answered. Jeremy wasn't used to being the one doing all the talking. Last night as he talked them both to sleep, he thought his voice might wear out from over use. Ryan didn't seem to want to participate too much, only made a few noises to show he was listening and would ask more short questions when it had seemed Jeremy had run out of things to say. Maybe Ryan was tired of him after all that. Maybe he was trying to get some space. The cave was large enough to fit them both comfortably, but Ryan had still settled very close to him during the night. Actually, how had he made it out without Jeremy noticing?

They couldn't have moved him again could they? Jeremy's heart pounded erratically at the thought. Sure, when he first saw the other mer he was terrified and wanted him gone; but now that he had a friend he couldn't bare the thought of having him being taken away again. No. The larger mer would have made a fuss, would have fought, Jeremy would have felt it in the water. He was here somewhere. Jeremy was resolute about that as he made his way to the surface to check the rock. As he got closer he could see the edge of Ryan's fin dipping into the water. He tried not to laugh at himself. All that worrying over nothing.

Jeremy poked his head out of the water to greet his companion, but what he saw had him freeze in surprise. What in Poseidon's vast ocean was he doing? It went far beyond sunning. Jeremy had used that rock to warm himself before and that was _not_ what Ryan was doing.

The older male was reclined on the rock, head back, back arched, arms stretched above his head, his huge black tail hung off the rock and his fin dipped into the water, occasionally flipping to splash water on the rest of it. It really showed off how much longer and leaner he was than Jeremy. That wasn't the problem.

The problem was, resting fully erect on his middle, his penis. Who sunned with their dick out? Was that a normal mer thing? Was Ryan trying to assert his dominance? Was he going to attack him? It was just all so strange. Jeremy pulled his eyes away from the other male's genitalia and up the lean torso to his face. Oh shit. How long had Ryan been looking at him? Ryan smiled serenely at him and used his fin to flick water in Jeremy's direction. Jeremy chirped nervously and decided it was best to leave the other male to... whatever it was he was doing.

As he swam back down to the bottom of the tank he caught sight of several of the dry landers watching from the glass. They looked nervous. That couldn't be good. He felt the water ripple as Ryan slid back into the water. He swam a little faster to try to get to the bottom.

“Wait, Jeremy, where are you going?” Ryan's long powerful tail meant that he was much faster than Jeremy; he caught up quickly.

“I uh... I was just going to leave you to... uh... you know... that...” Jeremy kept his eyes trained on the plants at the bottom as he swam, feeling suddenly warm. Ryan flipped so he was swimming upside down underneath Jeremy, trying to make some eye contact with him.

“Why aren't you looking at me? Did... did that upset you?”

“No! No... it was just... strange?” He glanced at Ryan. The other male looked concerned.

“Really? Because you seem upset.”

“No. It's just weird. I've never seen any other mers sun like... that. Is that... normal out in the wild?” When they reached the bottom, Ryan settled in the sand on his back and blinked up at Jeremy floating above him.

“Uh... well, yeah. But I wasn't really... sunning. You've really never seen that? Not even from the other males in the other little tribes here? Maybe around the time of year when the air starts to feel warmer?”

“No. Why? What were you doing?”

“N-nothing. Don't worry about it. You didn't like that did you?” Ryan tilted his head and smiled shyly up at him, pushing himself off the bottom to sit up and address Jeremy better. Jeremy righted himself and backed up to give Ryan more room.

“It was pretty weird.” Jeremy laughed nervously and eyed the large window at the bottom. Gavin was at his glowing box with another man, very preoccupied with whatever it was showing them.

“That's okay. You don't have to like it. I can try other things.” Ryan smiled at him as he wrapped his tail around his again, pulling him in close as it snaked all the way around.

“Uhhhhh. R-ryan?”

“You like this though, right?” Ryan pulled them up so they could float together, upright, without having to touch the sand.

“This is also weird.”

“But, you like it though, right? You're not trying to pull away.” Ryan ran his fingers over Jeremy's arms as they floated. “You... you could push me away... if you didn't like it. I wouldn't try to stop you.”

“No. No, I guess this is okay. Other mers do this too?” Ryan nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes, other mers do this. All the time.” He started rubbing their fins together again making that same wave of safety wash over Jeremy. Jeremy leaned over to try to get a look at what he was doing. Ryan gently rested his hands on Jeremy's un-scaled middle to balance him. “What about that? Do you like that?”

“It's... nice. What are you doing?” Ryan pulled his torso back up right by wrapping his arms around him.

“Just grazing our fins. What does it feel like?” Jeremy snapped his attention back to Ryan's face. He looked very pleased and curious.

“What? Ryan, can you not feel your fin?” Ryan chirped out an amused laugh at his confusion.

“Of course I can feel my fin. But it's supposed to make you feel something emotional when someone does this to you. It's different for every mer. What does it make _you_ feel?”

“Oh! Ohhhh. Um. Well, it makes me feel... like... safe.” Ryan's smile was blinding and he squeezed him all over a little tighter.

“Really? Safe? Really?” Ryan let out a happy chirp as he looked over Jeremy, raking a hand through the brown hair on his head.

“Yeah. Is that good?”

“It's wonderful! Jeremy, I'm a warrior. I love that I make you feel safe.” Ryan puffed up his chest proudly.

“Would it... wouldn't it... feel the same if another mer did this to me?” Ryan jolted, smile dropping from his face. He looked startled and stopped the pleasant rubbing.

“No, no it would feel different if a different mer did this. It feels different for each pair. But, no one's tried, right? No one's even wrapped around you, right?”

“No, no one's tried. Sorry. I didn't mean to upset you.” Ryan relaxed again and rested his head against Jeremy's as he continued rubbing their fins.

“No, I'm sorry. I just don't like the idea of another mer doing this with you. I'm glad you like it when I do it.”

“It's nice.” Ryan closed his eyes as he smiled.

“Yes, it is.”

“Ryan, if it feels different for each mer, what does it make you feel?”

“... Calm... Serene... Complete.”

“Wow. Did you used to do this... with other mers... back in your tribe?” Ryan's eyes slid open again and he looked sheepishly away and past Jeremy.

“Uh... um. A...few. But I didn't like it... and neither did they. It didn't feel like this, I swear.” Ryan was quick to reassure Jeremy, his eyes a little frantic as he rubbed his fin a little more firmly. Jeremy just laughed.

“It's alright, Ryan. I don't know why it matters, but it's alright.” Ryan's face twisted in confusion and his head tilted curiously. “What?”

“N-nothing. Don't worry about it.” Ryan leaned forward suddenly and brushed the gill covers on their necks together. Jeremy squeaked in shock. Ryan pulled back in alarm. “What? What's wrong?”

“What was that?!” Jeremy reached up and ran his fingers over the tingling slightly raised flap.

“I'm sorry. I didn't think. Yo-you didn't like it?”

“It tingles...”

“Yeah. Yeah, it's supposed to. I'm sorry. I won't do it again.” Ryan looked dejected and pulled his upper half away from him, loosening his tail a bit, but still gently and slowly rubbing their fins together.

“It's okay. It... it wasn't bad. It just surprised me. I've seen other mers do that before. Didn't know it felt so... strange.” Ryan gently ran his fingers around the line where his scales stopped.

“It wasn't bad? Are you sure?” Jeremy nodded and pulled his torso closer to Ryan again, already sort of missing the feeling of being wrapped up tight by the other mer. “Can I... do it again?”

“O-okay.”

Jeremy tilted his head to the side slightly as Ryan slowly leaned forward again. The second brush of the other male's gills against his was much more gentle, but still sent strange pleasant tingles all the way from Jeremy's neck to the tip of his fin. Jeremy held on tighter to Ryan when he didn't immediately pull away again. Ryan rubbed the covers together more firmly while running his thumb over the matching slit on the other side of Jeremy's neck. The smaller mer shivered in his grasp. Ryan eventually pulled back to rest his forehead against Jeremy's, eyes closed, looking very calm and pleased. He blew warm water over Jeremy's face as he held him.

Jeremy felt warm all over. This was nice. He had never had a connection with another mer before. It was awfully strange though. This wasn't really how he had seen other mers interact with each other. Also strange, Ryan didn't seem to like the idea of other mers interacting with him like this. Huh.

Jeremy glanced over to see Gavin had abandoned his glow box to watch the two of them. He was joined by two other white coated men. One looked very excited and was talking animatedly; the other only seemed to be half paying attention, focused more on Jeremy and Ryan floating calmly just above the bottom of the tank.

Jeremy felt the rumble of Ryan's growl before he heard it. Ryan had noticed the white clad men as well. He unwrapped himself from around Jeremy and put himself between the smaller mer and the glass, shielding him with his body.

“Ryan,” Jeremy put his hand in the center of the larger mer's back to try to comfort him, or calm him, or maybe just get him to see reason. “Ryan, it's okay. Gavin's nice. Remember.” Ryan growled again and moved Jeremy further away from the window.

“Yes, I remember. But I don't like those other two. Do you know them?” Jeremy peaked around him to look at the two men with Gavin. They all looked worried now.

“Not really. There are always a lot of dry landers walking around on the other side of the glass. But Gavin is the only one I really know. Why? What's wrong?”

“Those two have been watching me constantly since I was captured. I don't trust them. Come on, move away from them. I don't want them watching us.” Ryan bared his teeth at the window before spinning to grab Jeremy and pull him away from the window.

“Ryan, if they're down here, can we go sun? Like, actually sun...” Jeremy felt his face heat again as he remembered what Ryan was doing previously that, apparently, wasn't sunning.

“You... want to sun with me?” Ryan looked a little surprised and his eyes rapidly darted between both of Jeremy's looking for an answer.

“Well, yeah. Is that weird? I've seen other mers sun together before, and the rock is big enough for the both of us.” Jeremy reasoned as he watched the larger mer, who eyed him suspiciously.

“You've... never sunned with another mer?”

“Ha! Ryan, when I've been around other mers, they wouldn't really let me sun at all, never mind with them. Why?”

“Nothing. But the other mers you saw sunning together... they were male and female pairs. Yes?”

“Um. Yeah, I guess. Probably. I never really paid attention. Why?”

“It doesn't bother you to sun with another male?”

“Should it?”

“And everything that I've been doing... it doesn't bother you that I'm male?”

“No... uh... why? What are you doing? Why does it matter that you're male?”

“Because you're also male...”

“Yeah. I noticed.”

“And I'm male...”

“Hard to miss that one...” Jeremy's eyes darted down to Ryan's genital slit and then back up and away from his face. He heard Ryan try to stifle a laugh and had to bite his lips to try to keep himself from breaking into a wide smile at the sound.

“You're so perfect.” Jeremy opened his mouth to protest, but Ryan leaned forward and brushed their gills together again, effectively silencing Jeremy with pleasant shivers.

They spent most of the day sunning. Ryan seemed more interested in watching Jeremy sun, than anything else. He played with the webbing of Jeremy's tail, and held it up to the light, splashed it with water, watched it dry out. He would growl and hiss at any of the dry landers that would appear on the surface to watch or check on them. Jeremy eventually got tired of trying to calm him down every time and just let him be. He didn't seem to actually want to attack them, he just wanted them to go away. He really didn't like the dry landers. Jeremy guessed he couldn't blame him. He didn't think the other mers he had met liked the dry landers either, they just didn't react in the extreme way Ryan did. But it seemed as if Ryan was still a lot more wild than any mer Jeremy had encountered. Maybe that was why he was so strange.

As they lay in the sand in the safety of the cave that night, Jeremy wondered about his new friend's behavior. Was Ryan lonely too? Was that why he was so concerned over what Jeremy thought about they things he did? Did he just not want to upset Jeremy and lose a friend? Did he miss his tribe? Was he trying to do things he used to do with his tribe with Jeremy? Then, why was he so concerned that no other mer had treated Jeremy like he had? Why did it matter if he was male? Were males not supposed to be friends? The other males he had met had always been very mean and aggressive towards him. Maybe males didn't normally get along. But he got along great with Ryan. Jeremy huffed water out of his mouth and turned to look at his peacefully sleeping companion. He was such a strange mer.

*~*~*~*~*

Jeremy opened his eyes the next morning to see a small pile of shiny rocks right by his head. What in the ocean was this now? Where did they come from? Jeremy sat up fully in the sand to inspect them. There were about twenty of them in a neatly arranged pile, surrounded by the bright blue shards of what used to be the light coverings. It looked like the edges of the shards had been smoothed down a bit to dull them. Jeremy picked up one of the rocks to roll around in his hand. He had never seen anything like them before in in tank. A warm feeling bubbled in his heart as he looked at them.

“Do you like them?” Ryan's torso leaned over the top of the cave entrance. He looked ridiculous upside down and Jeremy kind of loved it.

“Yes! They're gorgeous. Where did they come from?”

“They were scattered in the sand this morning. Your sand is really boring; I was worried I wouldn't find anything.” Ryan swam in to the cave to lay on his back, resting his head on Jeremy's mid section. Jeremy blinked down at him.

Ryan was certainly a very physical creature. He never knew any of the other mers to be constantly touching each other. Maybe it was a wild ocean thing. Not that Jeremy was complaining. It made him feel warm and fuzzy inside any time Ryan was near him. He couldn't recall ever having a connection with another mer. It was... nice. He tapped down on a strange urge to reach out and run his fingers over the top of Ryan's head and through the soft looking hair wafting in the water. Instead, he went back to focusing on the rock pile.

“Are these the broken lights?”

“Yeah... sorry. I couldn't find enough rocks, so I had to improvise. Is that okay?” Ryan looked sheepish and poked one of the fragments into better alignment with the others. Jeremy laughed.

“Why wouldn't it be? They're very pretty.” Ryan seemed to relax more at that, shifting his attention away from the small pile and focusing it on Jeremy.

Ryan gracefully maneuvered over Jeremy so he was pressed up against him from behind, wrapping the tip of his tail around Jeremy's and lining their fins up. Jeremy gently rubbed his fin against Ryan's and the other male hummed happily as he took over the action. Jeremy liked the gentle rubbing. He didn't really know what Ryan was up to, but he felt safe and warm and happy; so he went back to playing with his rock pile while Ryan did... whatever Ryan was doing.

The larger mer ran his fingers all over Jeremy's torso, watching Jeremy's face as he did. When Jeremy apparently didn't show any adverse reaction, he began running his fingers over the line where Jeremy's scales started. He rubbed more firmly against the small overlapping keratinized plates. Jeremy squirmed a bit in his grasp. Ryan's touches made him feel warm inside and made the tip of his tail tingly. It was strange and made him want to rub against something.

Ryan continued rubbing his scales and running his hands all over Jeremy, moving further down his tail until he reached Jeremy's genital slit. Jeremy let out a surprised screech as Ryan ran his finger along the length of it, pressing slightly inside. He pulled back suddenly at Jeremy's reaction, looking surprised and startled. Jeremy jerked himself out of Ryan's grip and shot away from him, plastering his back against the cave wall as far from Ryan as the small area would allow.

“What? Oh no! Please, no, shush...” Jeremy chirped nervously at him and batted his hand away with his tail as he tried to reach out, probably in comfort. “What's wrong?”

“Wh-what... what was that? Why? … what?” Jeremy folded his tail up onto himself to cover his slit and continued his nervous chirping.

“I-I'm sorry. I thought... y-you just seemed to... I … please don't be upset. Shh, it's alright. Please.” Ryan looked so worried at his reaction. But what else did he expect Jeremy to do?!

Jeremy's eyes darted around the cave looked for some sort of explanation to this. They eventually landed on the small rock pile.

“Is that-? … does that-?.... did you...? Ahh-hha!” Jeremy screeched again as he shoved his fingers in his own hair and floundered for words. Ryan backed up as far as the cave would allow, curling his tail up at the tip and tucking it under himself while he pressed himself belly down into the sand. He looked small and nervous. Meanwhile, Jeremy's heart was threatening to leap out of his chest and swim away.

“I can try something else if you didn't really like them. I'm sorry. I thought you liked them more then you did.” Ryan folded his arms in front of himself, partly concealing his face and making himself seem smaller. His bright blue eyes were wide as the watched Jeremy.

“I... I like them. I'm just... uh... is that... the touching... a-and the-the _that_... is that what other mers do?” Ryan nodded frantically at him. “Did you... did you make this... so you could... do _that_?” Ryan nodded frantically again. Jeremy blinked in surprise and huffed water out of his mouth. Why in all the seas would Ryan want to do that? “Okay... look, I'm not used to other mers. So, if you want something, I need you to talk to me. Just- just tell me what is happening, okay? Don't just go... rubbing... things...” Ryan looked dejected, but nodded. “Okay. I'm going to go sun.”

Jeremy was halfway up the tank when he felt the distant ripple of the water from Ryan smacking something with his tail. He didn't see him under him, so he must still have been in the cave. He was such a strange mer. Not that Jeremy had much experience with his own kind. But honestly, wanting anything to do with Jeremy made him distinctly strange. What the flipping dolphin was that anyway?!

Jeremy tried to think about if any other mer had ever tried anything of the sort with him before. Maybe they had disliked him because he accidentally insulted some sort of tribal practice they had. He couldn't think of anything. Normally, they just saw him and immediately shunned him.

Jeremy jumped up on the the warm rock and layed out on his back looking up at the clear sky. His stomach dropped as he was reminded of Ryan's sunning... not sunning... the day before. Was he trying to get Jeremy to unsheathe his penis? No. That was silly. Why would he want that? Ryan was honestly the only other creature he had seen be so free with his genitals. Even the dry landers hid their slits behind thin armor. What had Gavin called them? Clothes.

Speaking of dry landers. Gavin emerged from the door to the tank windows and Jeremy chirped a cheerful hello to him while flipping his fin. The young man smiled brightly at him and patted the ground by the tank, calling Jeremy over.

“Hello, Jeremy! I was so worried about you!” He pulled a fish out of a bucket to give him and Jeremy munched away happily. Honestly, he had been worried too.

“I see you've been getting along with your new friend.”

Jeremy rolled his eyes at the man as he finished his fish. Gavin laughed.

“Oh dear! Well, it can't be that bad. I was worried he would attack you. He seems very friendly to you.”

Jeremy rested his head on his arms folded on the edge of the tank. Yeah, compared to the rest of the mers he had met, Ryan wasn't so bad. Strange, yes. Bad, no. Maybe... maybe he had over reacted a bit. Ryan was probably doing regular mer things; and Jeremy was so out of the loop with his own kind, he didn't understand. He poked Gavin's food bucket with his finger and looked up at him crouched next to the tank. Gavin laughed again and pulled out a shrimp for him.

“Alright. Alright. Fair enough. How about some morning puzzles, yeah?”

Jeremy perked up at that. He liked doing puzzles for Gavin. The young man handed him a clear ball. The inside looked to be some sort of maze.

“Can you get the silver ball out of this?”

Jeremy put it down on the edge of the tank so he could pull himself out of the water to sit next to Gavin while he worked. He turned the ball this way and that, navigating the silver ball inside down levels and around walls. It eventually dropped out of the hole in the bottom and onto his tail, where it promptly rolled off and into the water. They both peered over the edge, but it was long gone. Gavin chuckled and Jeremy chirped in amusement as he handed the clear ball back. Gavin traded him a fish for it, but froze suddenly looking out over the surface of the water.

Ryan was half hidden behind the sun rock, with just his eyes poking out above the water. He looked stuck somewhere between angry and miserable. It made Jeremy nervous. He wanted to go back to this morning. Before the, well... that... Jeremy chewed his lip as he remembered Ryan's finger grazing just inside his slit. Strangely, it sent another warm tingly feeling though his tail; it wasn't entirely unpleasant. Maybe he really did over react. Oh no. What had he done?

He slipped back into the water and made his way over to the larger mer. Maybe he could salvage this somehow. Ryan pulled his head and arms out of the water to hold onto the rock as Jeremy approached, but refused to meet his eyes.

“Hey, uh...”

“I'm sorry.”

“I know. I know. It's okay. I just uh... um... wanted to know if you wanted to meet Gavin.” The perfect distraction from the horrible mess he had created!

“Not really.” Crap. Okay, maybe not so perfect. “What's he doing?”

“Uh well, he gives me puzzles and stuff and then I solve them and he gives me fish.”

“Why?”

“He says he's trying to prove we're smart so he can prove we need to be set free.”

“You can understand them?”

“Yeah! You can't?”

“Of course not,” Ryan growled out as he huffed, still refusing to look up at Jeremy. “They just make weird noises at each other.” Jeremy laughed.

“Yeah, he can't really understand us either, but their words are usually easier; and then he taught me hand motions that we use some times, and we have the lights in the tank to tell me different things too.”

“You mean... the ones I smashed?”

“Uh... yeah. Don't worry. I'm sure Gavin will fix them soon. Do you want to come over?”

“Not right now.” Ryan turned fully away from Jeremy and rested his head on his arms against the rock. Jeremy just ached to reach out and comfort him.

“Do you want me to teach you some hand motions?”

“No.”

“You really don't like the dry landers, do you?”

“No.” Ryan growled lowly but didn't turn back towards Jeremy. “Look, don't worry about me. Go do your puzzles and get your fish. I'll watch from back here.” Jeremy felt awful. He tried to brush his fin against Ryan's, but Ryan pulled his tail away. Jeremy's heart sank.

“O-okay. I'll talk to you later?”

“Mm-hm...”

“... okay.” He nodded and moved away from Ryan back towards Gavin, who was eyeing them both nervously.

Jeremy laid his head on his arms on the edge of the tank, dejected. This must be what Ryan was feeling before. He just wanted Ryan to wrap him up in his tail and make him feel safe and warm again. He even wanted Ryan to run his hands over him again. Whatever the larger mer had wanted, it wasn't as bad as this feeling.

“Aw. Jeremy, was he mean to you?”

Jeremy snapped his head up. What? No! Jeremy shook his head violently, sending a spray of water all around him.

“Okay! Okay! Sorry!” Gavin laughed as he tried to shield himself with his arm as he got covered in water. “You two just don't seem to be getting along as well today.”

Jeremy flopped his head back down and pouted, letting out a pitiful whine. You could say that again.

“What happened?”

Jeremy huffed. This was around when he usually got tired of trying to talk to Gavin. How would he even go about trying to mime this out? He whined again and dunked his head under the water in frustration before pulling himself all the way out of the water to sit next to Gavin. He held up one finger to the dry lander.

“One word.”

He shook his head and held his finger up again.

“No. Okay. One?... no... hand?... no... finger?”

Jeremy nodded when he got it right. Then darted his eyes to where Ryan had been hiding. He pouted and whined pitifully when he saw that he other mer wasn't there any more.

“The warrior's finger?”

He nodded again. And looked down pointedly at his slit.

“You?”

No... that wasn't quite right... Jeremy lifted his tail a bit to be able to dart his eyes to his slit better.

“Did... he... put his finger in your anus?”

Jeremy screeched in shocked. WHAT?! Was that a thing?! Who would want to do that?! What?! What?! What?!

“No! No. Okay! Calm down.”

Jeremy grabbed Gavin and shook him lightly before flopping back against the ground and covering his face with his hands.

“Did you not like your rock pile?” The dry lander spoke quietly and gently.

How did he know about that? The rocks must have come from the dry landers. They must have supplied them so that Ryan could make that pile. This whole thing really was something other mers did and Jeremy really was out of the loop. Now he really felt terrible. Everyone seemed to know what was happen except him. He whined behind his hands. He just wanted Ryan and the safety of being wrapped up in his long, strong, tail.

How could he have messed this up so badly so quickly? Why had he freaked out so much over such a small thing? True it didn't seem small at the time. But it was, wasn't it? Especially now that he thought about how nice it felt; how nice he felt while Ryan was holding and rubbing him. He'd give anything to go back and try again, as embarrassing as that may be. He just couldn't lose Ryan.

A gentle tickle feeling on his fin brought him back to the moment, he flicked his tail to get rid of the feeling and flopped his hands away from his face to look up at Gavin in misery. Gavin was watching the water. He chirped at him to bring his attention back to Jeremy.

“Oh dear, you look miserable. Do you want another fish?”

Jeremy shook his head. He stomach was twisted in a knot, he didn't think food would help right now. He pointed to his stomach and made a wringing motion with his heads.

“Aw. You're unhappy and it's giving you upset stomach.”

Jeremy nodded. His tail tickled again, stronger this time, so he flipped it harder. Stupid tickle.

“Did you tell the warrior that you want him to leave you alone?”

What? No. That's not what he wanted. He scowled and flicked water at Gavin.

“Okay! So, you don't want him to leave you alone?”

Jeremy shook his head.

“Did you tell him _that_?”

Jeremy groaned. Ryan was upset right now. What was he supposed to say? Hey Ryan, I don't know what's happening, but wrap me up tight and also maybe don't touch me... but when you did touch me it was nice in hindsight but scary... so maybe do it again... but now I've ruined everything, so sorry.

Jeremy growled and flicked his tail hard at the tickle sensation again. He bolted upright to try to find the cause and froze when he saw Ryan floating just below the surface. Jeremy scooted closer to the edge so he could see him better. The larger mer pushed his head above the surface.

“Ryan?” He looked upset and dejected still, but floated to the edge of the tank. He bracketed Jeremy between his arms as he held on to the side. “R-ryan?” The larger mer looked up at him though his wet lashes as he leaned over Jeremy and spit the sliver ball from the puzzle out of his mouth and into Jeremy's lap.

“D-did you need that?” Ryan dropped his eyes away from Jeremy, but didn't move away again. Jeremy cautiously brushed his fin over the part of Ryan's tail that he could reach. Ryan gave him a small shy smile and didn't try to stop him.

Absolutely terrified, but going with it, Jeremy let out a screech before leaping forward and tackling Ryan back under the water. He caught the larger mer off guard, but he was still able to catch Jeremy and wrapped his arms around him as they sank slowly.

“I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry...” Jeremy muttered mostly into Ryan's gills as he clung to the other mer. He was trying to wrap the other male up with his tail, but it didn't seem to be long enough and he was becoming panicked and frustrated.

“Wh-what? Jeremy!” Ryan tried to pry him away but Jeremy clung on even harder.

“I'm sorry!”

“For what?!”

“Please don't be mad at me. I- I was just scared. I'm sorry.” Jeremy pulled back a bit only so he could rub his gills desperately against Ryan's. He felt the larger mer jolt at the feeling.

“I... I thought I scared you off...”

“No! No, I just...” Jeremy stopped his frantic movements as Ryan slowly and carefully pulled him away to look him in the eyes. Jeremy calmed down as Ryan took over and loosely wrapped his tail around him, gently brushing their fins together. “I don't want to lose you...” Jeremy's lip quivered as he spoke. Ryan calmly chuckled.

“Where am I going to go? I'm kind of trapped here.”

“That's not what I meant...” Jeremy grumbled and looked down to where they were intertwined.

“What did you mean?”

“You... this... t-that...” Ryan cupped Jeremy's face with one hand and tilted it up to look at him seriously.

“Are we thinking of the same that? Because the _that_ I'm thinking of, you didn't seem to like. At all.”

“Yes. We're thinking of the same thing.” Ryan wouldn't let him turn his head away, so he was forced to just avert his eyes from Ryan's intense gaze.

“Are you saying you want me to continue?”

“I'm saying I don't want to lose you. Ever.”

“I can do that. I can really really do that. And I want to, Jeremy, so badly, you have no idea. You drive me crazy. But I need do things correctly or it won't count. Do you understand?” No, no he didn't. Not at all. But if it meant keeping Ryan and this feeling forever...

“Yes.” Ryan's eyes widened happily and Jeremy felt the other male puff up his chest as he wrapped tighter around the smaller mer.

“Okay. But Jeremy, if you thought me just _trying_ to touch your penis was scary, then what I'm going to do is going to be terrifying...”

“I don't care. I can't lose you.”

“Oh, my beautiful little royal gramma, you are utterly perfect.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Confused Jeremy is confused. Our poor fishy has no idea what is coming his way... Why am I like this? ... 
> 
> So I have way too much knowledge on gills now... did you know that the outside covering on a bony fish's gills is called an "operculum"... and it's hard, but flexible... weird... 
> 
> Also, have you guys seen a royal gramma? They are absolutely Rimmy fish. Don't ask me how Ryan knows about them because they are native to the Caribbean and Ryan was found in the Pacific... but they are so Rimmy fish that I didn't care. Merman Ryan with the vast ocean knowledge. Going with it. 
> 
> I don't know how long it will be before the next chapter comes out... but if my brain cooperates with me, it will be the reason for the rating. Wish me luck... and aquatic sex thoughts... but mostly luck... 
> 
> As always comments and kudos make my world light up with happy joyous warm fuzzy feelings, so thank you for all of them. You guys are the best. And thank you for reading this strange journey have I ventured out on. 
> 
> Stay safe out there!  
> ~Evangeline

**Author's Note:**

> Okay. Well. There ya go. *shrug* Those are the connected sections of the story I have so far. I hope at least someone enjoyed it. Kudos are always appreciated. Comments also extremely appreciated, but please don't be insulted if I don't respond. I kinda suck at responses. If you guys want more, let me know, I'll do my best.  
> Much love. Much Peace. Stay safe out there.  
> ~Evangeline


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